Black and White
by Goodpie2
Summary: DEAD. After the Manhattan Outbreak, Alex and Dana Mercer travel the world together. Wherever they go, they see stagnation, corruption, and decay. Dana convinces Alex that, rather than destroying the world, he should fix it. For 15 years, he gathers his forces. Then, in 2027, Blacklight reveals itself to the world. M for violence, gore, swearing, and Alex Mercer.
1. Introductions

Alright, here's that new Alex Mercer fic I promised. I'm taking some time off from my novel right now, and, to be perfectly frank, I'm getting kind of bored with my other projects. Don't worry- that's strictly temporary. I'll be back to updating them soon. But I really wanted to write for everybody's favorite sociopathic, shapeshifting ball of "Oh FUCK!" for a little while, so I decided to do this. Originally, it was going to be a Mass Effect xover, with just a few short chapters as a prologue. It will still get into Mass Effect territory eventually, but this has evolved into a story in its own right. A big thanks to Silverlineage for helping me flesh it out. Go read her fics- they're fantastic. Also, nag her into making a sequel to _Viral Mates._

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Reporters and cameramen crowded around the platform, talking loudly and fighting to get a better shot. Dennis Schultz, the reclusive leader of the organization known to the world as Whitelight, was, for the first time since his mysterious appearance in 2012, giving an official press release. A press release, he claimed, which would change the world. Given the secret and enigmatic nature of Whitelight, and it's significant political and economic power, reporters had flown in from all over the nation (and the world) to learn why the group was finally breaking it's isolationist policies.

Little was known about Whitelight, and even less was known about its leader. Whitelight was, they claimed, an organization of humanity's best and brightest, gathered together for the purpose of propelling humanity into a new age. The group had scientists, writers, artists, engineers, architects, musicians- members from all walks of life. The one thing that the members all had in common was that they were among the very best at what they did. Joining the organization was by invitation only, and there was no way of knowing whether or not one would be invited. Geniuses such as Sally Palmer, widely regarded as being the leading expert in the field of theoretical physics, were passed over, while men such as Mike Mullins, a brilliant but utterly inexperienced student of biology, had been invited before he had even earned his Master's Degree. Whitelight ignored the outrage this had caused, with a spokesperson saying that Mullins had the potential Whitelight looked for in recruits, but people like Palmer lacked certain qualities the organization required.

Concerning Dennis Schultz, there was plenty of information, all of it trivial. Oh, his public records were easily accessed- born in 1983 to Larry and Susan Schultz in New Haven, Connecticut, graduated high school at fifteen, graduated from Harvard three years later with a degree in microbiology, so on, so on. His father had been interviewed, as had a few childhood friends, all of whom said the same thing- Dennis was a brilliant, driven individual, with a mind like few others, but he was somewhat distant, preferring his solitude over the company of others. But for all his genius, Dennis Schultz had been, apparently, unnoticed for much of his life. Few of his professors at Harvard remembered him specifically, although Professor Becky Hicks, of the biology department, remembered him clearly. She described him as a tall boy, big enough to fit in with the older students, but not the type one would notice. He'd tended to sit in the back of the classroom, she said, and avoided being called on. His work was above average, but only just- not what one would expect from a genius who left Harvard University at the age of eighteen. It was widely speculated that, due to his reclusiveness, the young genius had decided to underachieve, so as to avoid undue attention.

Yes, the man's trail in his early life was clear enough. It was in the later years that the questions rose. After gaining his doctorate at Columbia University, he seemed to have vanished entirely until the year 2012, when he announced to the world that he was going to form an organization of "humanity's greatest and brightest minds, collaborating and working together toward a single goal." The few individuals who even noticed the announcement smiled to themselves at the young man's naivety, and turned the page to look at the article about a revolutionary new toilet design that used thirty percent less water. It wasn't until three years later that anybody took the declaration seriously, when somebody published an article on a newly arisen organization called Whitelight, with over a hundred and fifty world renowned scientists, musicians, artists, and so on, professing membership. Even then, few knew of the organization, but they followed its rise to prominence in the following years. When Whitelight purchased the Gentek Corporation, a moderately well-known biological research firm, in 2017, the group finally became known to the world.

Since that momentous day, Whitelight had grown in power, wealth, and fame, all while remaining shrouded in mystery. Most of its members maintained their own activities, lobbying or giving speeches or leading rallies if they had done so before, but never on behalf of the organization, and the different members were often opposed politically or ideologically. Many people wondered about the "single goal" Schultz had mentioned in his initial declaration, but Whitelight remained silent. In fact, Whitelight remained silent about most things, even as it bought up technological and research firms with an astonishing pace. New members joined, corporations were purchased, and nothing else happened.

Conspiracy theories regarding the organization abounded. Some claimed that Whitelight was planning to usher the world into a new age of technological progress, pointing to the companies the group bought as evidence. Others claimed that they were buying the companies so that they could control the market on new tech, and plunge the world into a dark age. One popular theory was that this organization was secretly sponsored by some government, in an attempt to influence the worldwide infrastructure. Then there were, of course, the groups who claimed that Whitelight was a front for the Illuminati, or a group that had rebelled against the Illuminati, or some similar nonsense.

Then, one week ago, Whitelight's leader had made an announcement. Whitelight was ready. It was time for the organization to take its place, starting with a declaration that would change the future of the human race.

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A hush fell over the room as the man walked onto the platform calmly, then turned to face the gathered reporters, celebrities, politicians, and other significant people. He smiled at the press and VIPs as he approached the microphone.

"Hello, everybody!" he exclaimed happily. "My name is Francisco Alexander. Mister Schultz will be here momentarily, but before he arrives, I was asked to provide you with a warning. The things you will see and hear today will shock you. They will scare you. You will gasp, and possibly scream. We expect that. We are fully aware that today's revelation will be an utter shock to everybody not within the Whitelight Organization. However, we ask only this- _please restrain yourselves._ In a few minutes, many of you may wish to flee. I assure you, _there is no danger._ It is vitally important to us that you remain calm and quiet, and do not leave until you are dismissed. If you leave, you will not only be missing out on the story of a lifetime for no good reason, but you will also be endangering the mission of Whitelight, as well as your own lives. Thank you for your attention, and now, here he is- Mister Dennis Schultz!"

There was a round of applause as a man walked onto the stage. He was dressed casually, in jeans and a red polo shirt that showed his height and his large gut, but he held himself high, as if he were invincible, able to take on the world, and he _knew_ it. The man, Dennis Schultz himself, shook Alexander's hand warmly, and turned to the gathered crowd with a smile.

"Thank you, Francisco, for buying me the time to get changed into something nice." There was a round of polite laughter, and the smiling Schultz waited for it to die down before continuing. "Some of you may remember when, fifteen years ago, I announced my intentions to create an organization of humanity's greatest and brightest minds, collaborating and working together toward a single goal. At the time, I was an unheard of, but brilliant, if I may be permitted to say so, researcher in the field of viral life. As such, my announcement garnered little to no attention, and the twelve people who actually heard of my announcement dismissed it as the naive fantasy of an inexperienced young man. Well I stand here you today, and I say to you that I have accomplished that naive fantasy. Whitelight now consists of seven hundred and twenty-three of the world's most brilliant, innovative, creative individuals, all working together for one goal- the advancement of mankind. Some of you are familiar with the technologies we have created, pioneered, expanded, or perfected. Mechanical prosthetics are no longer a thing for science fiction alone. A cure for cancer is well underway. Clean, renewable energy is now a viable power source. These and many others were made possible by the cooperative efforts of people within my, _our,_ organization. But none of that compares to what I am about to tell you."

The crowd waited as Schultz took a deep breath and closed his eyes for a moment, the opened them again and took off his glasses.

"How many of you," he began, "remember an article written by the painter Sheila Brown four years ago?"

There was some muttering among the crowd at this strange topic for discussion, but nobody said anything. Outside, there was some sort of very faint commotion going on, almost as if a riot were taking place.

"For those of you who do not remember the event, as it was not widely circulated, I will recap. Mrs. Brown announced to the world that my organization had contacted her, and, in a private interview, invited her to become a member. During the course of this interview, the true nature of Whitelight, she said, was made plain to her. It was a secret group working for none other than the infamous Alex Mercer, the Monster of Manhattan. For the younger members of our audience, and those who have lived under a rock for the past twenty years, Alex Mercer is an internationally wanted terrorist, allegedly responsible for dozens of attacks across the world, many of them biological in nature. He introduced himself to the global community by releasing a deadly disease into Manhattan Island's Penn Station in the year 2009. In just three weeks, thousands were killed by the disease. At the end of the third week, when the government was just beginning to get a handle on the virus, Mercer detonated a nuclear bomb off of the coast of New York as a show of force. The attacks attributed to him since have been much smaller in scale, but no less dangerous to the global community. Well, in her article, Mrs. Brown stated that Alex Mercer was no ordinary terrorist. He was a monster. Literally. He was not a monster in the sense that Hitler was a monster, he was an actual, literal, otherworldly creature. Mister Mercer, she claimed, was a shapeshifter with tremendous strength and speed, who fed on the flesh of humans to survive. He was creating an army of these monsters, she said, in the guise of Whitelight. The reason Whitelight only invited certain individuals, she argued, was that they only invited people whom they were certain would agree to become one of these monsters, and who would swear his undying loyalty to the Monster of Manhattan. Well, naturally, this article was absurd, and led to an investigation into her mental health, whose results stated that she was secretly a schizophrenic, and had been hiding her affliction from the world for years."

"Before I continue, I would like to reiterate what Mr. Alexander said earlier. No matter what happens today, _you are not in danger._ Do you all understand me?"

The gathered crowd nodded, curious as to what was about to happen.

"Good. As I was saying, the investigation's results made it clear that Sheila Brown was a paranoid schizophrenic. These results were falsified, on my orders. I owe Mrs. Brown a tremendous apology for the damage I did to her reputation. I deeply regret that I hurt Mrs. Brown so badly, and have endeavored to help her where I could. However, I cannot say that I regret the actions I took, as they were necessary. You see, almost all of what she wrote in her article was true."

There was a chorus of nervous laughs from the gathered press members and VIPs, but many people were frowning, or had puzzled looks on their faces. What kind of joke _was_ this? What happened to the world changing declaration that Schultz had promised?

Schultz shook his head at the laughter, and raised his hands for quiet.

"I promise you, I am not joking. You see, there never was a Dennis Schultz. He was an elaborately fabricated lie, produced through bribery, blackmail, and specially placed agents. My real name..."

Suddenly, black and red tendrils began to crawl across Schultz's body, squirming, moving, and flowing as they rearranged themselves. A few moments passed, and then, standing before the crowd, was a new man. He was shorter than Schultz, but much better built. While not overly muscled, there was a sturdy kind of visible strength to him. A black leather jacket was worn over a light gray hoodie, which was pulled over a dark, brooding face.

"...is Alex Mercer," finished the figure on the stage.


	2. The Blacklight Revelation

Somebody screamed as the transformation finished and the man on the stage revealed his identity, and many of the VIPs began rushing for the door in panic and terror. The Monster of Manhattan was here! And he was a literal monster! T1he assembled press and celebrities crowded for the exit in terror, but not all of them did so. Many of the individuals present maintained their seats. Some were curious as to the purpose of this elaborate ruse. Some had long ago figured out where the talk was headed, and were not surprised, and figured that Mercer probably had the exits covered. A few even realized the truth- that Mercer was being honest when he said that he didn't want to hurt them. What would he have gained from it? Announcing his existence to the world, and then slaughtering a room full of reporters and celebrities?

"The door's jammed!" somebody called, followed by a shout of "This one too!" from the emergency exit. The crowd's panic increased. Everybody was pushing somebody, trying to get to a door to try it for themselves, or away from one door to try the other one, not believing that it was truly locked too, or simply to the back of the room, as far away from Mercer as they could get.

Just when it looked like there was going to be a riot, there was a loud bang. Everybody turned to see Mercer holding a bright orange track pistol, smoke trailing from the barrel.

"Everybody please remain calm. This is one of the issues which I wanted to speak to you about. For your safety, the building has been placed in lockdown. I do not intend to harm you, so please return to your seats."

Nobody moved for a moment, then somebody spoke up. "How do we know you didn't lock us all in here so you could kill us?"

Mercer smiled. "To what end? I invited you all here publicly, under the name Dennis Schultz. Were you all massacred, Mister Schultz would immediately be blamed, ruining ten years' of effort to establish Whitelight as a respectable organization. Furthermore, why would I decide to explain my presence and the nature of my organization to you _on camera_ before I killed you? Lastly, what would I gain from killing a room full of reporters and celebrities? I have gone to a great deal of trouble to arrange today's meeting, and it is vitally important to myself, my organization, and the United States, at the very least, that I get my message across. So please be seated- we have only limited time before we have to evacuate."

"Evacuate?" somebody cried. "What have you done!"

The terrorist's smile faded. "Okay, fuck this 'nice guy' shit. Sit the fuck down now, and I'll explain what's going on, then do my best to save your asses. Got it?"

The crowd, surprised by the change of tone, complied, though quite a few people stayed near the locked doors.

"Like I said, most of the stuff in that article was true. I'm not human. I'm a viral lifeform called Blacklight, designed in secret by the United States government as a potential biological warfare agent. I survive by killing and consuming living human beings. Yes, you heard that right- I actually eat living humans. I don't have a choice about the matter. It's how I survive. But neither I nor the other members of Blacklight feed randomly, or on innocent citizens. I'll be honest, because if I'm not, the government will use it against me- that wasn't always the case. During the Manhattan Outbreak, I killed and consumed civilians on a regular basis. But here's the thing- if I hadn't slaughtered hundreds, then thousands, possibly millions more would have died. The virus that was destroying Manhattan was out of control, and only I knew how to stop it. The government, rather than working with me, tried to kill me constantly. I was continually under fire, and always needed new biomass. You remember what I said about being a virus? Well, that means that I can regenerate my body by infecting new cells. I tried to only consume Blackwatch troops, but that wasn't always an option. During those three weeks, I had no choice but to kill innocents. If I hadn't consumed them, I would have died. If I'd died, then either the virus would have escaped Manhattan, and killed millions, or Blackwatch would have nuked the island, and killed thousands. After Manhattan, though, I made a rule, and the other members of Blacklight follow that rule, on pain of death. We only consume those who would be condemned to death. Terrorists, rapists, serial killers, IRS agents, bastards who really deserve it. If one of my people killed an innocent, and trust me, I would know, I would kill them for it. It's the only way we can coexist with humans. If we consumed anybody we wanted to, then you would hunt us down, and we'd have to kill you all to..."

A thunderous explosion rocked the building, causing the VIPs to glance at each other nervously.

"God dammit. Okay, here's the true story about the Manhattan Outbreak. My creator, Dr. Alexander J. Mercer, helped design the Blacklight Virus as a biological warfare agent, under orders of the then top secret government agency Blackwatch. He noticed that his coworkers were disappearing, and realized that Blackwatch was tying up the loose ends. Dr. Mercer stole a vial of the virus, and, when Blackwatch caught up with him, threatened to release the virus. Blackwatch shot him anyway, and in his last moments, he released the virus in Penn Station, killing thousands. On that, and that alone, the government told the truth. What they _didn't_ tell anybody was that the real Alex Mercer was killed when he released the virus, which infected and transformed his body into the being you see before you- me. So in a way, I am Alex Mercer. In a way, I'm not. Make of that what you will. Another thing the government never mentioned is that I _stopped_ the outbreak. Oh yeah, and that nuke they blamed on me? That was their final resort- blow Manhattan the fuck up and say I did it. I managed to redirect the bomb to a point away from the city, and saved everybody who was still left alive on the island. Believe me or not, I don't care. That's what happened. Anyway, after the outbreak, I decided to travel a bit. See the world, and get away from the government. While I was traveling, something occurred to me. Humanity is stagnant. Technological advances and other forms of innovation are strangled by corporations so that they can maintain monopolies on technologies that already exist.Religious groups call everybody who isn't a member of the right church in the right sect in the right religion a heretic. Politicians spend millions trying to maintain the status quo, when the status quo is _completely fucked up._ Innovation, change, advancement- they're all being stifled by a corrupt society dedicated to maintaining its power base. You know that cure for cancer I mentioned? It's been in the labs for over _forty years._ We found the techniques in a highly encrypted database of one of the companies we bought out. You know why they never deveoped it? Because the same company was owned by the company responsible for most of the chemotherapy equipment found in the United States and several other major countries. If they cured cancer, they wouldn't be able to sell chemo to people. The revolutionary new solar panel design we perfected? Patented twenty years ago. British Petroleum bought the patent so that they could make sure it never went into production to threaten the worldwide dependency on oil. We've found _dozens_ of examples of that kind of practice, and..."

There was another loud _boom_ outside.

"Fuck. Okay, gotta talk fast. I decided to fix this situation. My sister Dana and I began studying people who would be willing to help us. Not ordinary people- people who could make a difference. Scientists, politicians, CEOs, that kind of people. If we thought somebody could be trusted, we invited them to join our new organization, Whitelight. A few years ago, I slowly started offering the Whitelight members the option to leave the organization or be infected with the Blacklight virus. By then, we were a pretty tight group, and most people accepted the invite, and the ones who didn't..."

Another explosion shook the building.

"God dammit. Sorry people, we're running out of time. The long and short of it is this- Every member of Whitelight is infected with the Blacklight virus. We are not contagious, and we don't have any plans to hurt humanity or the US. Unless you keep hunting us down like animals. Then, we'll declare war. You remember Blackwatch? The military group that was sent into New York to stop the Manhattan Outbreak? They were originally a top secret branch of the military dedicated to monitoring and eliminating biological threats in and outside of the United States. Well now they've decided that their sole purpose is the destruction of every single Blacklight Evolved- that's what we call ourselves as individuals- on the planet. You can see why we object to that just a little bit. The problem is, if we go to war with the US, thousands of humans will die, and they'll never even know there's a war going on, because the US government wants to keep the whole thing under wraps. Well, a lot of us decided that if you're going to be fighting a war, you may as well have a say in it, or at least know about it. So here's the deal- you, as reporters, celebrities, politicians, public speakers, and so on, have the ability to inform the public of what is going on. Do it. Tell them about the Blacklight Evolved. We don't much care what spin you put on it. To be honest, you'll probably do best with the whole 'powerful monsters who eat human flesh' bullshit that Brown tried to do. There are hundreds of us now, each individual capable of taking on an entire fucking army. We can hide in plain sight." Mercer transformed into an identical copy of Don Lopez, the current US president, then into a short, voluptuous woman with wavy brown hair, then into a beat up lamppost, then back into himself. "We can go anywhere. We know everything that goes on in this entire damned country, and most of the world. We are powerful, we are numerous, we are dangerous," as he said this last sentence, tendrils began to crawl along his body, as they had when he transformed from Dennis Schultz or into President Lopez. When they stilled, Mercer had been replaced with a creature of nightmares. A shining black carapace covered its body, jagged spikes and serrated edges covering its every surface. His arms ended in wicked claws, each gleaming in the light. As the eyeless, faceless mask stared into the crowd, Alex Mercer finished his declaration. "...and we are angry."

Another explosion went off, this one significantly louder and closer than the ones before it.

"God dammit. Okay, time's up, people," said Mercer, transforming back into a "human". "We're gonna move you lot out of here so that Blackwatch doesn't burn you all for your interaction with us. I've got people outside buying us time, but we gotta move fast, or Blackwatch'll just firebomb the building rather than leave any survivors. Francisco, give me a hand here."

To the surprise of the onlooking crowd, Mercer and the man who had introduced himself as Francisco Alexander transformed their fists into massive, black monstrosities, which they then used to pummel down the wall behind the stage.

While Alexander cleared a path through the debris, Mercer turned to the gathered humans.

"You're gonna be heading through the sewers. Get the fuck over it, unless you want to be shot by Blackwatch troopers. Believe me, they won't care that you didn't know who you were meeting with- you met with the most dangerous terrorist in the world, and are now a collaborator. From now on, all of you will be under the constant protection of a member of Blacklight, until we decide that the threat is gone. They will be noninvasive, and you literally won't even know they're there, but they're the only way to keep Blackwatch off your asses. Yeah, I tricked you. I know. Get the fuck over it. If I'd told you the consequences of coming here, none of you would have come, and nobody would ever know about us. 'The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few' and all that bullshit. Now. Follow Francisco. Don't push or fight, blah blah blah. Once you get to the sewers, there'll be a group of Evolved waiting for you. They'll guide you to safe points on the surface. Thank you, and have a nice day."

Mercer made an enormous leap across the room, landing in front of the emergency exit.

"Where are you going?" asked one of the celebrities.

The monster turned, a feral grin on his face. "Me? I'm gonna join the fight. It's been a while since I ripped the head off a few Blackwatch fuckers."

With that, Alex Mercer gave the steel door in front of him a powerful kick, sending it rocketing into the wall in the hallway, and sped out of the room, claws sprouting from his arms as he left.

The watching humans stared for a moment, then jumped collectively as Alexander smashed his fists together with a tremendous _crack_. The crowd turned, and Alexander spoke.

"All right, people. Follow me, and don't do anything stupid. We've got maybe fifteen minutes before Blackwatch manages to get a shot through and blow up the building, so let's MOVE!"


	3. The News Hits the Public

I apologize for the poor writing in this chapter. My save file got corrupted, and I had to rewrite it from scratch, so I just tried to get it over with.

Also, LEAVE SOME REVIEWS. Seriously. It's kind of discouraging when the only person who leaves a review is the one who's mentoring you on the story.

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Don Wayne Lopez sighed as he sagged into his couch, taking a swig of his beer and turning on the TV to his favorite news station. It was a completely unnecessary habit of his, watching the news every day, but it was one he'd developed as a young man. Now, as President of the United States, he needed the comfort provided by his rituals. In a life where he jumped from one crisis to another, working fifteen hour days to try and solve problems that affected millions of lives, but ultimately had little say in the outcome, he needed a small amount of control over his life.

Unfortunately, that control was an illusion.

"...is Alex Mercer," said a voice on the television as the screen came alive, showing a man in a black jacket and gray hoodie.

Lopez choked on his beer. What the _hell_ was Alex Fucking Mercer doing on the television? According to his spies in Blackwatch, Mercer had been silent for years. And now here he was, making a public announcement?

Sure, Blackwatch's leadership kept telling him that Mercer was responsible for various attacks and bombings across the globe, but according to his own agents, that was a bald-faced lie. And yes, everybody who knew the truth about the Manhattan Outbreak knew that Whitelight was a front for Alex Mercer's operations, but nobody could tie Whitelight to anything sinister.

Whitelight...now there was an enigma. Five years ago, a member of the group had informed the government of the group's true nature and leadership, shortly before he disappeared. Immediately, the government had started working against Whitelight. At first, they'd tried to bring the group down legitimately, trying to find ties to attacks and terrorist organizations around the world. But nobody had been able to tie them to anything. Not even the flimsiest connection could be found. So, the government had decided to create the connections. Crimes were committed, with carefully placed evidence pointing to Dennis Schultz. Documents were forged, showing donations from Whitelight to ISIS, the Sons of the Confederacy, Al Quada, and various other terrorist organizations. Videos were faked, depicting Whitelight leaders and members meeting with known criminals, or committing various atrocities.

But, somehow, none of this faked data got to the public. The evidence that was presented to the courts all pointed to the agents who had really committed the crimes. The forged documents would be online for a few hours, then be deleted or destroyed, and replaced with real ones, showing massive donations to charitable organizations. The videos that were leaked to the news and onto the internet would go live for a couple of minutes, then disappear, and be replaced with ones that showed Whitelight members running into burning buildings to save lives, or pulling people from wrecked cars, or saving kittens from trees.

It was the biggest security breach in history, and it had continued for five years. New security protocols were introduced daily. Viral detecters were by every door or window. Blackwatch D-Codes patrolled hallways. Messages and passwords were given verbally, in person, behind locked doors. But it continued. The falsified data would leave government hands, and then be replaced or vanished. It was obvious that Whitelight had tremendous power. And with this power, they did...

absolutely nothing. The analysts, secret agents, spies, and so on had been unable to find any malicious activity from Whitelight. It was, as far as they could tell, exactly what it claimed to be- a group of geniuses working together for the betterment of mankind.

Which was patently absurd. Thanks to their leader, parts of Manhattan were _still_ quarantined zones. If it hadn't been for the actions of Specialist Cross, the city would be a pile of rubble! There were videos, classified at the highest level, of Zeus massacring civilians by the dozen, or bringing down entire buildings full of people, or fucking _eating_ them. Whatever Mercer wanted, it wasn't to "propel humanity into a new age," unless that was an age of death and chaos.

There were two theories about Whitelight's apparent benevolence. The first was that they were as good at hiding their connections to their malicious activities as they were at getting rid of the fake stuff. The second, which Lopez suspected was the accurate one, was that they were biding their time for something big.

Well, that something big was here. Lopez turned his attention back to the television.

"This video is not faked, dear viewers," said the news anchor, "you really did just see the world famous genius and leader of Whitelight, Dennis Schultz, turn into the internationally wanted terrorist and serial killer, Alex Mercer. And if you thought that was strange, wait until you hear his explanation."

The screen flashed back to the scene of Mercer, who was speaking. "I'm a viral lifeform called Blacklight, designed in secret by the United States government..."

Lopez grabbed for his phone. He _had_ to contact General Wagner, Blacklight's current leader. He may be a complete and utter bastard, but he was the leader of the organization dedicated to eliminating Zeus and its compatriots.

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Jeffrey Fernandez, low level accountant and random citizen, sat on his couch, staring dumbly at the figure on the screen.

"and we are angry," finished the figure on the screen, then the scene faded out to once more show the news anchor, Melissa Cook.

"While Mr. Mercer was making this announcement, a pitched battle was raging outside between Blackwatch forces and Blacklight Evolved. Don't believe us? We received this footage from an anonymous source, whom we now suspect to be Blacklight agents or supporters. Our audience should be warned, the next few clips contain graphic violence and extremely strong language."

The screen changed again, showing a Blackwatch helicopter firing a missile upon a large building. Before the projectile could reach its target, a long, black chord shot out of nowhere and struck it, causing it to explode. The camera shifted to show an armored form, similar to the one Alex Mercer had been in just a few moments ago, but with an absurdly long tentacle, ending in a barbed blade. The Blacklight Evolved flung its appendage forward again, where it pierced the chopper's armor, then pulled taught as the figure tugged sharply, bringing the helicopter into the ground with a massive explosion. A series of gunshots rang out, and the camera shifted again to show a group of Blackwatch troopers opening fire on the Evolved. The tentacle shot forward once more, this time in a wide, slow arc. The razor sharp blade tore five of the troopers in half, while the tentacle wrapped around a sixth and pulled him towards the Evolved, who lashed out with his claws, and...

"For the sake of our viewers, we've cut the footage off there, but believe me- it wasn't pretty. Reporters arrived on scene fifteen minutes after the first shots were fired, just in time to see a squadron of Blackwatch helicopters tear down the building with thermobaric missiles. A few bodies were found, but most of the VIPs were evacuated through the building's sewage connection, where a group of Blacklight Evolved guided them to the surface. According to Mercer, the VIPs are now considered collaborators, and will be placed under the constant protection of Blacklight's members in order to prevent Blackwatch from assassinating them. Which brings up a valuable question- just who are the good guys in this conflict? Blacklight claims to be trying to change the world, and Whitelight has certainly done that in recent years. But at the same time, they invited over a hundred people to a press conference, knowing that the lives of the humans present would be in danger. Not only that, but they actually locked the doors, preventing the VIPs from leaving. Of course, if what Blacklight says is true, anybody caught trying to leave would have been shot anyway. Blacklight seems to claim that Blackwatch is the true evil, persecuting them without cause and murdering anyone who interacts with them. In addition, videos, supposedly recorded during the Manhattan Outbreak, have surfaced, depicting Blackwatch soldiers firing into crowds of terrified civilians, or running over citizens with tanks. Blackwatch has not yet been reached for comment, but we _do_ have somebody who opposes Blacklight- Sheila Brown, the world renowned painter. According to Mrs. Brown's article four years ago, Blacklight seeks not to aid humanity, but to overthrow the world's governments and put themselves in power, led by Alex Mercer, whose rule will be ruthlessly enforced by the fanatically loyal Blacklight Evolved. The rest of us, she claims, will be literal cattle, since the Evolved actually _eat_ humans, devouring their still living victims before assuming their identities. Four years ago, these claims were ludicrous, and led to her being declared a schizophrenic. However, Mr. Mercer admitted tonight that the investigation into her mental health was falsified on his orders, as 'most of the stuff in that article was true.' In addition, Mercer confessed that he eats living humans, but claims that he refrains from 'consuming' all but the worst of criminals, and that he strictly forbids other members from 'consuming' innocents. But what if he's lying? What if..."

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"The United States officially declared Whitelight to be a terrorist organization today, and ordered the seizure of all of its assets. However, the group had quietly liquidated or sold said assets only hours before, netting them trillions of dollars, almost all of which is stored in offshore bank accounts, putting the group's funds safely out of the government's hands..."

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 _The idea that a virus could develop a form of intelligence is supported by studies published by researchers even before the Outbreak in 2009 (Houston, 2003; Thornton, 2008; Wood, 1997; further sources listed in Footnote 4). Were this to occur, it is likely that all instances of the virus would share the same intelligence. In the case of Blacklight, where the members clearly show individuality, it is likely that there is a guiding intent, possibly formed by Mercer, as he is the self-proclaimed "father" of..._

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"Blackwatch commandos stormed over three hundred homes belonging to members of the Whitelight organization today, only to find them empty and abandoned. Many of the residences in question had been burned to the ground within the past week, and..."

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"The Blacklight controversy officially reached the international level this week, with Russia, Britain, France, and several other nations releasing official statements on Blacklight. Britain has pledged to support the United States in any conflict against the group, as has Germany. Japanese leaders said that if war breaks out between the US and Blacklight, they will tentatively support the United States, otherwise remaining neutral. Russia and China plainly stated that they would support Blacklight in any conflict with the US, with Russia actually offering asylum to any Blacklight Evolved who seek it. France, Italy, and Brazil have all stated intent to examine the situation further before making any promises of support or neutrality, and..."

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"... are clearly a dangerous element. They obviously hold no respect for the law, given their admission that they kill and eat humans. True, they claim they only eat 'bastards who really deserve it,' but does anybody really deserve to be slaughtered and eaten? If they do, who gives Blacklight the right to determine who deserves it and who doesn't? It's for exactly this reason that we have an established legal system. A legal system which Blacklight not only ignores, but openly mocks, when they make themselves vigilantes like this. Clearly, the government is right to..."

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... _the wholesale attacks on Whitelight members are not only illegal, but blatantly unconstitutional, based on any reasonable interpretation of the Fourth Amendment. While Alex Mercer has confessed to "killing and eating humans", the other members of the organization remain silent on the issue, and no evidence exists to support the claim that they are actually infected with the Blacklight virus, much less guilty of any crimes. Without any actual evidence to support the idea that the members of the Whitelight organization have committed the crimes which they are accused of, the United States government has no legal authority to..._

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"Nadine Maldonado, the well-known investigative reporter, was shot today, and has been hospitalized. Miss Maldonado was one of over a hundred people present at Alex Mercer's momentous announcement two weeks ago, and accusations abound that the attack was an attempted assassination by Blackwatch, as Mercer warned. Blacklight released a video online, in which they officially accused Blackwatch of murdering citizens for merely telling the public the truth about Blacklight. Blackwatch, as always, was not available for comment, which makes..."

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"The United Nations seems to be split on the matter of the United States-Blacklight conflict. China and Russia have demanded that investigations be made into Alex Mercer's claim that the Blacklight virus was intentionally developed as an offensive biological warfare agent, which is illegal according to the 1972 Biological Weapons Convention. The United States and United Kingdoms have stated intent to veto any such actions, and have demanded that Whitelight and Blacklight be added to the International Terrorist and Insurgent Organizations list, thus enforcing sanctions against the groups worldwide, and bringing harsh penalties on any group or nation found contacting or supporting them. Russia has stated..."

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… _absurd to not only give the exact numbers of their forces (there are seven hundred and twenty-three registered members of the Whitelight organization), but to actually provide the names and residences of these forces to the United States government, whom they clearly regard as a potential enemy. To explain this phenomenon, it has been proposed that Whitelight was simply the public face of Blacklight- the "geniuses, artists, and leaders" who openly declared their allegiance to the organization in order to present Blacklight in a positive light and sway public opinion in their favor. The true numbers of Blacklight, then, would be impossible to even speculate on, and..._

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"Mercer, at the very least, is guilty of, in his own words, 'slaughtering hundreds,' and shows no remorse for it. For him to be the _leader_ of this organization, and refuse to face trial for the crimes which he openly admits he has committed, states clearly that Blacklight hold themselves above us. The casual admittance to eating humans shows not only a worrisome disregard for our lives, but a superiority complex which is dangerous in such a powerful group. The fact that the Blacklight Evolved support Mercer makes it clear that these qualities are not limited to him alone, and suggest that the infection somehow..."

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 _...no significant drop in crime rates after 2012 until 2019. However, during these years, many known criminals, such as Sidney Yates, the infamous serial killer, who is widely agreed to have been cleared on a technicality, began disappearing. Starting in the autumn of 2019 (which is also the date that many members of Whitelight left the organization, citing "irreconcilable moral differences") the rates of violent crimes in New York City and Manhattan dropped by seventeen percent practically overnight, and known perpetrators of said crimes began to vanish. Since the "Blacklight Revelation," the rates of violent crimes across the United States, and especially in New York, have plummeted..._

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"Colin Miles was found dead today in his San Francisco home. Miles was yet another member of the group present for Alex Mercer's now-famous 'Blacklight Revelation,' the seventh such person to have been assassinated so far. Blacklight has officially offered asylum to anybody who was present for the Revelation, stating that their prior intent, to simply provide protection, was clearly not sufficient. President Lopez responded by accusing Blacklight of performing the assassinations themselves in order to turn public opinion against Blackwatch, whom he calls 'the heroes of Manhattan'..."

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"Kerry Doyle, the famous actress and one of the 'Revelation One Hundred,' became the thirteenth person to request asylum from Blacklight today. In response, the president stated that any persons found knowingly working with or in contact with Blacklight or Whitelight agents or supporters will be declared an enemy of the state, and tried for treason upon capture..."

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And so it continued. For months, the debates raged, splitting the United States and the world firmly into two camps. The supporters of Blacklight claimed that the organization was exactly what it claimed to be, pointing to the members' previous reputations, and Mercer's complete honesty as evidence that Blacklight meant no harm to humanity, unless they continued to be treated as criminals. Those who opposed Blacklight claimed that the members were no longer the same people, and that Blacklight somehow affected the minds of the group, making them subservient to Mercer. They claimed that Mercer's apparent honesty was intended to gain trust, so as to make it easier for Blacklight to take power.

The discussions were academic, though. Nobody knew how to find or contact Blacklight, and the group seemed content to stay silent. Eventually, things began to cool down. The assassinations on the Revelation One Hundred died down, and Blacklight itself seemed to vanish entirely as the videos from Alex Mercer stopped appearing. It was as if the Blacklight Revelation had never occurred.

And then, three months after Mercer's final video, the world received another message.


	4. The Long Awaited Update

I'd like to apologize for the delay in this chapter. I knew I shouldn't have left you guys on a cliffhanger, but I really didn't expect this chapter to be so hard to write. It turned out to be a bitch. In addition, I've had to deal with that bastard, Real Life. He kinda hates me, so I haven't had the time to write in weeks. Hell, I _still_ don't have the time to write, I'm just being a dumbass. Again, really sorry about the wait.

 **A few important notes:**

In cannon, Blacklight Evolved are able to consume any animal life (evidenced by consuming a crow after Mercer's complete obliteration by a nuclear bomb). For story purposes, I had to get rid of that. Since Blacklight is genetically engineered to target humans specifically, the Evolved can only consume humans. Furthermore, since all living beings require an input of energy of some kind, they have to "eat" roughly once a month.

"But wait a minute," many of you will say. "Evolved can alter their DNA at will. They should be able to just rewrite it so that they can consume whatever the hell they want." To which I say- "Shut up and stop poking holes in my story." Nah, just kidding. If you pay attention to the game, _both_ games, actually, it's strongly suggested that they _can't_ alter their DNA at will. What they _can_ do is take on genetic traits of those they've consumed the DNA of. This is supported by the fact that Mercer doesn't gain, for example, claws, until he's consumed a Hunter, or the fact that he can only turn into people he's consumed. If he could alter his DNA or physical form at will, he could give himself all kinds of shiny powers right off the bat. He could also simply turn into a trash can or some shit every time he was being chased by Blackwatch, rather than have to turn into a disguise they've forgotten about.

Which brings us to another issue. The disguises. In the game, Blackwatch constantly forgets what form Alex was in twenty seconds ago. Hell, they don't know what Mercer's original form looks like.

In this story, that ain't gonna work. Blackwatch has a massive database of any identity Mercer or other Evolved are known or suspected to have access to. If they see Joe Bloe sprout tentacles and shit, the next time Joe Bloe shows his face, he's gonna have Blackwatch troopers on his ass.

The issue is complicated by the fact that, logically, the Evolved don't actually have to consume someone to take their form (but they do have to consume them to take their memories and such). They just need a DNA sample. So they can snag a hair from Joe's comb and use his identity to wreak havoc. Then, when the _real_ Joe goes to work the next day, he'll find himself confronted and scanned by Blackwatch troopers. And he'll probably be under surveillance for the rest of his life- that way, if another Joe Bloe appears halfway across the country, Blackwatch knows they can just shoot him, instead of having to scan him for the virus.

Lastly, I'm getting rid of the ability to glide. Try as I might, I can't think of any reasonable explanation for the ability. The evolved are just too damned massive (read, containing large quantities of mass) to stay in the air for as long as Mercer and Fucktard do in the games.

Actual lastly, a huge thanks to those who left a review. You are the wind beneath my seat cushion. Go buy yourselves some pizza. I shall have pizza as well. That way we can all have pizza together.

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"Hello, everybody," said the figure on the screen, "I know you've all been wondering where we've been for the past few months. To put it simply, we've been watching the fireworks. Seeing who could be trusted, and how the world reacted to the news of our existence. I'll be honest- things went better than I expected. The United States public was remarkably open to our existence, despite the... nastier aspects involved. Roughly thirty percent of the country is in support of my organization, far higher than I'd expected. Unfortunately, the government wasn't so accepting. The United States has continued to hunt us down, has declared us to be terrorists, and has threatened anybody who spoke out in our favor. And now, they have declared war. At eight thirty this morning, Blackwatch commandos attacked one of our safe houses. Specifically, the one my sister, Dana, was living in. The Blackwatch forces were subdued easily, but not before they shot Dana, wounding her severely.

"The United States government attacked my sister. Not only did they knowingly and intentionally attack the only one of us they could reasonably hurt, despite the fact that we have not acted against the US in any way, but they specifically aimed for the person I care about more than anything or anyone on the entire god-damned planet.

"As of today, Blacklight is at war with the United States government. We will do our best to avoid civilian casualties, but any military target is fair game. This includes military personnel, bases, and equipment. If you live on or near a military target, you are advised to pack up your shit and leave. Anybody who doesn't listen to this warning will be considered an enemy. We're sorry for the damage and sorrow we will cause, but the United States has made it clear that they have no intention to let us live in peace, and we have no choice but to fight back. The war begins now."

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Thomas Wright grinned as he received the message from Mercer- it was time to attack. Black and red tendrils crawled across his body as he shifted into his armored form, and his left arm transformed into a pair of massive, carbon-plated monstrosities that looked more like black slabs of granite than fists.

"Fuck! Blacklight!" somebody cried, as people began either running away or gathering curiously to see what was about to happen.

God-damned idiots. Thomas mentally shook his head. He'd been ordered to keep collateral damage to a minimum. What's more, most of the other Evolved would be pissed as fuck if he killed too many humans. Despite what the anti-Blacklight members of the public claimed, there weren't any real changes to an individual's personality when he/she was infected. The only change was a loyalty to Mercer and a desire to support the race of Blacklight as a whole. Beyond that, the person was the same. Which meant that, in most cases, the people involved cared about humans, and had morals and all that shit. Thomas was one of the different ones. He recognized that Blacklight was the future- they were the apex race, and humans were merely cattle. But they needed the cattle to survive. Humans were the only species Blacklight could consume, so wiping them out like insects would be suicidal. And that meant that Blacklight had to coexist with humanity. Which meant keeping a good public face. Which brought Thomas back to the issue at hand- wiping out his target without _too_ much collateral damage.

Well, Mercer would understand. If these people were too damned stupid to run once the fight started, it wasn't his fault if they got hit by a few stray shots.

That in mind, Thomas crouched slightly, then sprang forward in a tremendous leap, falling like a missile into the military base that was his target. As shouts and alarms began going off around him, he began sprinting towards the heavily guarded bunker that housed the base's command structure. Cars flew into the air and soldiers turned into fine mists of blood as he swung his massive fists, knocking aside any obstacle between himself and his target as he ran through the base at speeds upwards of 150 miles per hour until he found himself confronted with a squad of tanks that had apparently been on standby.

Two of the tanks opened fire on him as one, knocking him to the ground and burning through a significant amount of biomass.

Scowling mentally, Thomas got to his feet and jumped into the air, landing directly on top of one of the tanks, which he smashed to pieces with a few swings of his fists. The other three tanks opened fire with their machine guns, firing incendiary rounds into him and burning away biomass. Then, two of the tanks turned their main guns on him. Thomas threw up his shield quickly, ducking behind it as... was that _fire_ coming out of the tanks' barrels?

The flames roared, rushing around the shield and burning away Thomas' carapace. The Evolved roared in rage and pain as fire met flesh, roasting the infected human cells at temperatures in excess of two thousand degrees Fahrenheit.

Thomas vaulted into the air, out of the way of the streams of fire. Raising his arms as he came down, he smashed them into one of the tanks as he landed on it, crushing the offending vehicle underneath the combined force of his fall and the blow from his fists. The flames subsided, and Wright picked up the shell of the destroyed tank and hurtled it at the other flame tank, destroying the machine with a tremendous crash. The remaining tank opened fire with its main gun and secondary guns, firing incendiary rounds into the Evolved and destroying his cells at a worrying rate.

Wright's shield came out again, this time effectively blocking the oncoming attacks, and he charged forward, swinging his other fist in a great arc and crushing the barrel of the tank.

The tank's main gun neutralized, Thomas leapt onto the turret and forced the hatch open. Jumping down into the opened vehicle, the Blacklight Evolved grabbed a soldier in each hand. Tendrils began to crawl from his hands into his screaming prey as the infectious virus cannibalized its victims' cells, turning them into more Blacklight cells, and rewriting their DNA to match Thomas'. The infected cells were then pulled into Thomas' damaged body, while destroyed flesh was shed from his limbs and torso. All of this happened in under three seconds.

Now fully healed, Wright slaughtered the surviving member of the tank's crew, then transformed his arm into a tremendous blade. With a few swings of his new weapon he cut a hole in the side of the tank, from which he erupted like a bullet from a gun.

Flames and explosions surrounded Thomas as he threw himself at the nearest soldier, and it took him a moment to realize that every soldier in the area was armed with either a flamethrower, a grenade launcher, or an RPG.

A rocket caught him in the face as he eviscerated his target, and Wright's neck snapped backwards. Had he had a conventional anatomy, that would have been the end of the fight. Being a Blacklight Evolved, he didn't even flinch, he just snapped his head back into place and allowed healthy cells to flow in and replace damaged ones.

Finally, Thomas got the message that the mission was accomplished. More accurately, a massive explosion rocked the earth as the bunker that housed the base's artillery, tanks, and heavy weaponry went up in flames, courtesy of his partner, Felicia.

Soldiers began swearing as they realized what had happened, and Wright grinned in his mind as he grabbed the nearest soldier for a snack on the run and made his exit.

The humans may have learned a lot about fighting Blacklight, but they hadn't learned nearly enough.

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So, short chapter, but I figured you guys would rather have this to finish that cliffhanger than nothing at all. I can't say when the next chapter will come out- my life is too fucked up right now. It could be later today, it could be another month. I'm really sorry about that.


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